Portable yaarl solar camping light

ABSTRACT

This invention is a compact portable “solar light” which incorporates recent advances in bulb and battery technology to produce high intensity light continuously for up to 12 hours for use on camping trips, in remote off-grid cabins, homes, etc., and emergencies. It uses a 12V solar panel exposed to sunlight outside to charge a standard 12V 12-18 Ah Li-ion (LiFePO4) or Lead-acid battery. The 12V DC battery current is fed to an inverter to produce 120V AC which is then fed to a standard 120V 15 W LED bulb, which produces 1500 lumens of (5000K) high intensity light continuously for 9-12 hours. This “solar light” also has a 120V AC outlet for use with 120V devices consuming less than 100 W (e.g. Laptop computer) and USB 3.0 and USB ‘C’ outlets. This “solar light” can also be charged from an automobile or other 12V source and also at home with a 120V AC to 12V DC step-down adaptor.

BACKGROUND

Portable solar lights/lamps/lanterns are used in many situations, especially on camping trips, in remote off-grid cabins and homes, in emergencies, etc. Currently available portable “solar lights” have very low light output, usually less than 1000 lumens and use 12V or lower voltage bulbs and are powered either by solar panels and rechargeable batteries or regular one time use batteries. The batteries and bulbs used in portable solar lamps/lights/lanterns may vary widely in voltage and light output, but usually they consist of a 12V or 6V volt rechargeable battery and a 12V or 6V fluorescent or LED bulb. The “solar light is” charged by a solar panel which produces electricity (12V/6V DC) on exposure to sunlight and charges the 12V/6V rechargeable battery during the day time. At night, the charged battery operates a 12V/6V fluorescent or LED bulb in the lamp, producing light (usually less than 1000 lumens).

To the best of my knowledge, currently there are no compact portable solar lamps/lights/lanterns specifically designed to use solar panels to charge a rechargeable battery and able to continuously produce more than 1000 lumens of light for more than 3-4 hours. The “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” is so designed as to overcome these short comings and to be able to produce 1500 lumens of high intensity (5000K, daylight equivalent) light output continuously for about 9-12 hours. This “solar light” is also equipped with a standard 120V AC outlet for use with any 120V AC device consuming 100 W or less (e.g. laptop computer, electric shaver, etc) for short periods of time and standard USB 3.0 and USB ‘C’ outlets. The LED bulb used in this “solar light” has a life span of 10,000 hours. The battery has a life span of about 9-10 years for the Li-on (LiFePO4) battery and 1-2 years for the deep cycle Lead-acid battery. The very high light output of 1500 lumens (100 watt incandescent bulb equivalent) and the long duration of light output continuously for 9-12 hours (and the long life-span of the bulb and battery) make the “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” a very unique compact portable solar light and an excellent tool for providing high intensity light on camping trips, in remote off-grid locations and emergencies.

SUMMARY

In this invention called the “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” (hereafter also referred to as the “solar light”), the 12V DC electric current from a 12V 15-25 Watt solar panel (solar panel may range from 15 to 25 Watts) charges a 12V 12-18Ah Li-ion (LiFePO4) or deep cycle Lead-acid battery (battery may range from 12 to 18 Ah). The 12V DC current from the battery is fed to a standard 150 W 12V to 120V inverter module to produce 120V AC. The 120V AC is then fed to a standard 120V 15 W LED bulb to produce 1500 lumens of 5000K light (daylight equivalent) continuously for 9-12 hours. The “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” is also equipped with a standard 120V AC outlet for use with any 120V device consuming less than 100 W (e.g. laptop computer) and standard USB 3.0 and USB ‘C’ outlets. This “solar light” also has a built-in “cooling fan”. On charging this “solar light” with a 12V 15-25 W solar panel exposed to 8-10 hours of sunlight, it is able to produce excellent light of 1500 lumens (5000K) continuously for about 9-12 hours. This “solar light” can also be charged from the cigarette lighter socket of an automobile or charged at home using a 120V AC to 12V DC step-down adaptor.

The “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” is so designed as to provide excellent daylight type (5000K) light of 1500 lumens continuously for 9-12 hours making it very useful on camping trips, in remote off-grid cabins, homes and other locations, and in emergencies. This is achieved by using recent advances in bulb and battery technologies to design an excellent compact portable light with an output of 1500 lumens of (5000K) high intensity light continuously for 9-12 hours. This “solar light” is also designed in such a way that the bulb and battery are easily accessible for change/replacement. Furthermore, the standard 120V 15 W LED bulbs and standard 12V 12-18 Ah Li-ion (LiFePO4) or deep cycle Lead-acid batteries used here are also widely available. The standard LED bulb used in this device has a life-span of about 10,000 hours, the Li-ion [LiFePO4] battery a 9-10 year life-span and the Lead-acid battery a 1-2 year life-span.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A clear description of the invention as designed can be seen in the three accompanying diagrams, Diagrams 1, 2 and 3 (see last 3 pages).

Diagram 1 shows the left side view of the “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light”.

Diagram 2 is a front view of the invention

Diagram 3 is a “3D” view of the invention

This invention called the “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” consists of an outer plastic shell (body) with dimensions: length=7.1 inches (180 mm), width=4.1 inches (105 mm) and height=7.1 inches (180 mm). It has a handle as shown in the diagram. The shell encloses a completely sealed, rechargeable maintenance free 12V 12-18 Ah battery (Li-ion [LiFePO4] or Lead-acid battery) in the battery compartment and a standard 150 W 12V DC to 120V AC inverter module in the electronics compartment. The plastic handle is molded together with the plastic shell. A standard 120V 15 Watt LED bulb is placed in a standard bulb holder on the top of the shell next to the handle (see diagrams). The bulb is enclosed in a transparent plastic compartment as shown. The battery is connected to the inverter through a main switch and the inverter to the bulb through a second switch. The battery is connected to a 12V DC input socket on the plastic shell (as shown in the diagram) for charging the battery with external 12V current from the solar panel or any other 12V source (using a charge controller). The electronics compartment houses a 120V AC outlet and one USB 3.0 outlet and one USB ‘C’ outlet, all of which are accessible from outside. There is also an indicator LED light on the shell which indicates positive current flow from the battery to the inverter module. The battery compartment and bulb enclosure both have ventilation holes with a diameter of 0.04 inches (1 mm).

The “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” light is operated by the two external switches on the shell as described above. The main switch controls current flow from the battery to the inverter while the second switch controls only the current flow to the light bulb. This enables the 120V AC outlet and the USB outlets to be used without turning on the bulb. Once the battery is charged, it is disconnected from the 12V source and can be carried anywhere and used as a portable light/lamp continuously for 9-12 hours. The “solar light” can be charged in the day time with the solar panel on a daily basis (8-10 hours) which will enable the lamp to be used continually on a daily basis at night.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention called the “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” (hereafter also referred to as the “solar light”) is a very compact portable solar light in which a 12V 15-25 W solar panel (solar panel may range from 15 to 25 watts) is used to charge a 12V 12-18Ah Li-ion [LiFePO4] or deep cycle Lead-acid battery (battery may range from 12 to 18 Ah). On exposure of the solar panel to 8-10 hours of sunlight, the 12V DC current from the solar panel fully charges the 12V battery. The 12V DC current from the battery is fed to a 150 W inverter module which produces 120V AC current from the 12V DC current. The 120V AC current is then fed to a standard 120V 15 W LED bulb to produce 1500 lumens of 5000K (daylight equivalent) high intensity light (equivalent to a 100 W incandescent bulb) continuously for 9-12 hours. Thus this “solar light” is an excellent tool for providing 360 degree lighting on camping trips, in remote off-grid cabins, homes and other locations, and in emergencies. In addition to the high intensity light, this “solar light” is also equipped with a standard 120V AC outlet and USB 3.0 and USB ‘C’ outlets. The 120V AC outlet can be used to power any 120V device consuming less than 100 watts of power for short periods of time (e.g. laptop computer, electric shaver, etc.). The USB outlets can be used to charge cell phones, etc. The “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” can also be charged from the 12V cigarette lighter socket of an automobile or other 12V source (using a charge controller). It can also be charged at home using a suitable 120V to 12V step-down adaptor.

The body of the “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” is made of a suitable plastic material and the bulb cover is made of transparent plastic. This “solar light” consists of one large compartment for housing the battery and one small “electronics” compartment which houses all the electronic components and placed above the battery compartment (see diagrams). The inverter module and cooling fan are placed inside the electronics compartment. The bulb holder, the 120V outlet and USB outlets are all also housed inside the electronics compartment but accessible from outside. There are two switches placed on the walls of the plastic body. One switch controls the current flow from the battery to the inverter and the other, the current flow from the inverter to the bulb. This arrangement permits the use of the 120V and USB outlets without switching on the bulb. There is also an indicator light which confirms current flow from the battery to the inverter. The handle of the light is molded into the body as shown in the diagram. Both the bulb and the battery are easily accessible and can be easily removed for change or replacement if required. The standard LED bulb used in this device has a life-span of about 10,000 hours, the Li-ion [LiFePO4] battery a 9-10 year life-span and the deep cycle Lead-acid battery a 1-2 year life-span. Further details of the invention can be seen in the three accompanying diagrams, Diagrams 1, 2 and 3. What is new and unique in this invention is the unique way in which newly available technologies are combined to produce a very useful product which can provide high intensity light for a very long period of time, in remote locations using solar energy.

The exact measurements of the “Portable Yaarl Solar camping Light” are given in the section on “Description of the Drawings” and are also clearly visible in the diagrams. 

1. In this invention called the “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light”, I claim that this is the first of its kind of a compact portable solar light, which uses a 12V 15-25 Watt solar panel exposed to sunlight for 8-10 hours, to charge a 12V 12-18 Ah Li-ion [LiFePO4] or Lead-acid battery, and the battery 12V DC current fed to a 150 W 12V DC to 120V AC inverter to produce 120V AC current to power a 120V 15 W LED bulb to produce 1500 lumens of daylight equivalent [5000K] light, continuously for about 9-12 hours.
 2. I claim that the main electronic components of this invention called the “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” are: a) a 12V 15-25 Watt solar panel (solar panel may range from 15 to 25 watts) b) a standard 12V 12-18 Ah Li-ion (LiFePO4) or deep cycle Lead-acid battery (battery may range from 12 to 18 Ah capacity) c) a 150 W 12V to 120V AC inverter module d) a 120V 15 W LED bulb (1500 lumens/5000K) and e) any other 12V source with a charge controller such as a 12V cigarette lighter socket of an automobile or home 120V wall outlet using a suitable 120V AC to 12V DC step-down adaptor
 3. I claim that the incorporation of a 120V AC outlet in this portable “solar light” with a 12V battery charged by a 12V solar panel has been done for the first time and is unique and the incorporation of both USB 3.0 and USB ‘C’ outlets is also unique.
 4. I also claim that the 120V outlet in this portable “solar light” is able to power any 120V device drawing 100 W of electricity or less (e.g. laptop computer) for short periods of time and could be operated along with the LED light bulb in this unit.
 5. A claim that the “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” could also be charged from the 12V cigarette lighter socket of an automobile or other 12V source (using a suitable charge controller) and could also be charged at home using a suitable 120V AC to 12V DC step-down adaptor
 6. I also claim that the 120V LED bulb and the 12V battery in the “Portable Yaarl Solar Camping Light” are easily accessible for removal and can be readily changed/replaced as needed (they are widely available) 